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Mudskipper, Gabon, 2004

Peeking out of the murky water in Loango National Park, a mudskipper reveals its blunt head and close-set, protruding eyes. These elongated fish are noted for their ability to climb out of water with the aid of their strong pectoral fins. Once out of water mudskippers breathe air and moisture trapped in their gill chambers.

(Photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "In the Land of the Surfing Hippos," August 2004, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Michael K. Nichols